What does it mean to dream about spiders?
Spiders in dreams most often stand for fear: of the unknown, of a person, or of something you can't control. A web may be about feeling tangled up, or about deceit. Not every spider dream is a nightmare: a spider building its web may stand for patient work, and killing one may mean you're ready to face a fear.
Updated
For many people, spiders are among the most unsettling things to dream about. There's no single meaning. How you felt, what the spider did, and whether there was a web all point in different directions.
What dreaming about spiders may mean
ASomething you dread, getting closer
Spiders move quietly and seem to appear out of nowhere. A frightening one may stand for fear of the unknown: something you dread that seems to be slowly creeping toward you.
You were frightened when you saw the spider
BSomeone you're afraid of, or something you can't control
If spiders frighten you in real life, the dream may borrow that fear for something else: a person who makes you uneasy, or a part of life that feels beyond your control.
You're afraid of spiders in waking life
CFeeling exposed
A spider on your body is about as close as a fear can get. The dream may reflect feeling vulnerable or out of control somewhere in life. A bite may point to pressure you can't quite name, but that feels as if it could overwhelm you.
The spider crawled on you or got into your space · The spider bit you
DTangled up in something
Webs catch things that can't get loose. Being caught in one may stand for feeling stuck in obligations, in a set of relationships, or in someone else's plan.
You were tangled in a web · The spider was close and you couldn't get free
EA web of lies
We talk about weaving a web of lies for a reason. If the web stood out, the dream may be about deceit, or a feeling that someone around you isn't quite what they seem.
The web, or a spider waiting in it, stood out
FPatient, careful work
Not every spider dream is a nightmare. A spider building its web may stand for your own steady effort: something you're putting together carefully, one thread at a time.
The spider was building its web · You felt steady and careful in the dream
GReady to face a fear
Killing the spider can be a turning point. It may reflect new confidence to face something that scared you, and readiness for a big change.
You killed the spider
HA fear that keeps coming back
When spider dreams return again and again, they may simply be about a fear of spiders, or about a long-running worry that hasn't let go.
The spider dreams keep coming back, and they upset you
These are possibilities, not verdicts. The reading that fits is the one that matches the details and the feeling of your dream, and what's going on in your life.
Questions that tell the readings apart
- Q1How did you feel when you saw the spider?Dread, disgust and calm curiosity lead to quite different readings.
- Q2What did the spider do: crawl on you, bite you, wait in its web?A spider on your skin and a spider spinning quietly in a corner are very different dreams.
Read your own dream about spiders
- Reading your dream
- Picking out the images and feelings
- Looking up what the images can mean
- Working out how the pieces fit together
- Writing your reading
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